Macau’s youth don’t think they are as good as mainlanders: survey

2018-03-13 08:00
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Local youths feel that they are not as good as their mainland counterparts in terms of creativity, flexibility, learning ability, and professional competence, according to the findings of a survey about young Macau people’s job prospects on the mainland.

The survey was conducted by the Macau Youth Federation last year. The findings were released in a press conference on the federation’s premises in the city centre yesterday.

The survey aimed to look into the views of local youths aged between 18 and 45 on the prospects of working or starting up a business on the mainland. It collected 629 valid samples via interviews and online questionnaires, with more than half of those surveyed aged from 18 to 30.

When asked if they felt that they have an advantage over their counterparts on the mainland, the respondents said they didn’t think so in four of the seven indicators. The indicators where they felt least likely to have a comparative advantage were “learningability”, “professional competence”, “flexibility”, and “creativity”.

However, most of the local youths said they believed that they have a better “multicultural adaptability” than their mainland peers. They also felt that they have a slightly better “global vision” and “language ability”.

Referring to the respondents’ perceived prospects on the mainland in the coming five years, Juliana Ng Chi Neng, vice chairman and secretary general of the federation, said 68 percent said there were better career prospects on the mainland than in Macau while 84 percent said that there were better business prospects on the mainland. However, only about half said that they were willing to start up a business or work there.

The findings show the factors discouraging them from doing so include cultural differences, being separated from family, and the perception of strong competition on the mainland.

About the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the findings noted that more than half of the respondents said that they didn’t know much about the details.

Ng said that a better and more extensive promotion of the central government’s plans like the BRI could create a positive effect on the willingness of young locals to work on the mainland.

Juliana Ng Chi Neng, vice chairman and secretary general of the Macau Youth Federation, speaks to reporters on the sidelines of the press conference in Calçada do Tronco Velho yesterday. Photo: Joel Chu

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